


Like the biggest mess of fandoms ever thrown into a coffeeshop AU

by felilivargas



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Hetalia: Axis Powers, Homestuck
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-06
Updated: 2015-01-06
Packaged: 2018-03-06 08:22:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3127688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/felilivargas/pseuds/felilivargas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I started writing this a while ago to amuse some friends of mine at school. A whole NaNoWriMo and holiday season later, I've finally finished the first chapter...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like the biggest mess of fandoms ever thrown into a coffeeshop AU

Rain. It was something uncommon in the bustling surburbs of northern California, or really, most of California in general. It was something Tolys had noticed since he'd moved here. Along with the dry, musty air, that hung around with a dirty but not smoggy feel, which was always so warm compared to a day in the season back in Lithuania, he'd noticed the lack of rain.  
And so, he'd come to appreciate the rain. It was like a symphony, both simple and grand in style, each drop a note ringing in soft pizzicato. Splashing footsteps would create the hits of a snare, a car driving by a cresendo and a decresendo as the climax passed. It was without a conductor, but it was a beautiful symphony indeed.  
Rose Lalonde, however, did not share his appreciation for the autumn weather.  
The young psychology student was from Massechusets, and by god, did she hate the rain. She had come in drenched, despite the black umbrella she proceeded to shake out, and ordered her usual hot chocolate for here, and set out her thin, top-of-the-line laptop to work on. Tolys knew she was a wonderful violinist- she would play sometimes, sitting at the piano bench and reciting Beethoven pieces from memory- and assumed that was why she was muttering to herself about symphonies and strings as she worked.  
Tolys, on the other hand, had her hot chocolate to prepare. Working to the tune of some classical piece his boss Iroh had probably put on, he prepared the girl's favorite drink. Same as always; heat the milk, mix it with syrup, steam some milk, pour the hot chocolate into the cream. Just for kicks, he poured the drink in artfully, creating a pattern of brown on the ivory white of the cream.   
"Here's your drink, Miss Lalonde!"  
Cheerfully but carefully, he delivered the beverage to his customer.  
"Thank you, Tolys. Again with the Miss Lalonde?"  
"Sorry- Rose. Here's your drink."  
She shook her head. "It's fine- just pretty respectful considering I'm a 16 year old, that's all. How's your morning been?"  
Tolys set down the drink. "It's been going well! It's so nice getting some rain around here; you can tell the area needs it."  
Rose made a face. "Eeh. I was hoping to get away from the rain studying here myself. But I suppose you're right."  
"I can see what you mean. What are you studying right now?"  
The girl grinned a little. "Oh, this isn't studying. This is just for fun. Wanna read?"  
Tolys shrugged. "Sure!"  
The passage was written in Microsoft Word, though he could tell she had at least ten different windows open, not counting the ones that were minimized. Leaning over, he read the text, small Garamond, black on white:  
"You wonder if this rain will ever let up. It's driven since the month began, perhaps long enough to forget its purpose. It no longer even knows to assuage fire. Somewhere a zealous god threads these strings between the clouds and the earth, preparing for a symphony it fears impossible to play. And so it threads on, and on, delaying the raise of the conductor's baton.   
How you hate this season. "  
"Wow, Miss Lalon- I mean Rose. Your writing is excellent."  
"Thank you! I'm glad you appreciate it so much."  
She smirked a little- or not so smirked. Just smiled... intelligently. Like she knew Tolys was going to say that.  
"You're welcome, Rose. Well, I better be getting back behind the counter."  
"And I better be studying. Well, see you later."  
"Thank you!"  
And so, Tolys was back behind the counter.  
It didn't take long- twenty seven minutes, to be exact, for Iroh's niece to stumble out of the back, prepared for work. Like the other staff at the coffee shop, he was dressed casually, but he still donned the gold crown of the Fire Nation. Why the Fire Lord was working in his uncle's tea/coffee shop was really between him and his uncle- something about Zuko needing a summer job, and Zuko getting pissed because he was the Fire Lord.  
"Good morning, Lord Zuko!"  
"Morning, Tolys."  
Though he was responsible for an entire nation, the Fire Lord was still a teenager. Immediately after greeting Tolys for the day, he slumped over the counter and appeared to fall back asleep for the two seconds.  
"Is a 9 am shift a bit early for you, Lord Zuko?"  
"Oh, can it."  
Immediately following his entrance was the man himself, Iroh. Iroh had apparently been set for the throne initially, but after some great failure, his brother, Zuko's dad, had recieved the throne. Then there had been a big fight between Zuko and his sister, or something like that. He was friends with the Avatar, some super powerful kid with glowing tattoos, but not at first? It was all a bit over Tolys's head. Not that he had been paying much attention. This was mostly from the Fire Lord's royal ranting himself.  
The one thing Tolys could see, though, was why Iroh hadn't become a ruler. He just didn't... seem like one. He was just a humble old man who loved tea, giving fatherly advice and wisdom, and happened to be a powerful firebender. He wouldn't have been a very strong or enthusiastic ruler, and would probably spend his days drinking tea and teaching his subjects philosophy. Which, while pretty awesome, wasn't... really what a country wanted in a ruler.  
"Good morning, boys!"  
Iroh burst into the room, carrying a set of teacups from the washer and a large grin.  
"Good morning, Iroh!" Tolys greeted him in a chipper tone, while Zuko moaned tiredly into the counter.  
"I see someone's excited for a new day!" Iroh said, elbowing his niece.  
Still slumped over, he rolled over a bit before picking himself up, as if he were a ragdoll. "Why do I even have a summer job? I'm the Fire Lord. That's one heck of a job."  
Oh, no. This again. Tolys hid his grin, pretending to be very interested in the milk steamer.  
"Zuko, before you can rule a nation, you must relearn discipline! A ruler must first know how to rule themself: to set their own schedules and regulate their behavior. You can barely wake yourself in the morning; how do you expect to rule your people?"  
"It's not even summer anymore, Iroh. It's November now; I've been working in your shop for six months. I have duties to attend to-"  
"Think of this as a training session. Now, shush. We've got a customer."  
The doorbell jingled, closing behind one of Tolys's close friends. Alfred F. Jones, a programmer currently working for some Silicon Valley startup, had invited Tolys to live in America with him for a set amount of time. When he saw Tolys, his face lit up. "Bro, wassup!"  
The most Alfred thing he could say.  
"Hello, Alfred! How's your morning going?"  
"Pretty good, but now even better since I had time to pop into the shop." He looked around, and made an exaggerated frowny face. "You guys took down the halloween decorations!"  
"Alfred, it's been nearly a week since Halloween..."  
"Ah, I guess you're right..."  
They stood in silence for a moment, Alfred still grinning with his usual early morning enthusiasm.  
"Alfred, are you going to order?"  
"Oh yeah, sorry. The usual."  
"Large double shot expresso with whipped cream on top and a jalepeño bagel?"  
"Toasted with cream cheese and all!"  
Tolys plugged the order into the computer, even though he knew the price well. "That'll be six twenty four, Alfred."  
Alfred knew the price well too. Almost immediately, he pulled out seven dollars. "Keep the change."  
Iroh nudged Zuko, forcing him to work on Alfred's coffee. Tolys took up the responsibility of making his friend's bagel. Alfred slid into a stool at the bar while Tolys selected the bagel from the stand. "How's life been for you lately?"  
"Oh, not bad," he mumbled, slicing the bagel on a cutting board.  
"That's good! Anything interesting happen at the shop lately?"  
As he put the two slices in the toaster, Tolys noticed Rose making an expression at them from her table. Not a bad expression, but certainly a bemused one. And not to them, to herself. But he doubted Alfred noticed.  
"Well, Avatar Korra came in with her girlfriend yesterday."  
Alfred's demeanor changed. "The Avatar got a girlfriend?"  
Tolys nodded. "Yup. She's very kind and, from her demeanor, smart."  
"Good for them! Is she hot?"  
Alfred countered, "What? 'M just askin'."  
"Alfred, you know me. I don't... I don't notice these sorts of things."  
The toaster dinged. "Not in girls, you don't."  
Tolys rolled his eyes as he went to get the bagel. "Not in guys, either."  
Alfred made another sad face. "Phooey."  
"What?"  
Zuko handed him his coffee. "Here's your double shot expresso with whip, sir."  
"Thanks, bro."  
Slathering his bagel with cream cheese, Tolys changed the topic. "What's been going on at the company lately?"  
"Not much," he said flatly. "Only that we've been bought out by Microsoft."  
Though he didn't show it as big as Alfred would have, Tolys was stunned. "You did not."  
"We did!" he laughed. "The one and only. It got us some office space. Just in time, too. Google's moving into our old office as soon as we're out of the way."  
"Jesus," Tolys exclaimed. He handed Alfred his bagel, folded neatly into a paper bag. "How do we know they don't want to take the coffee shop while they're at it?"  
Alfred laughed. "You're not in Mountain View, bro. You're safe."  
And with that, Alfred was off, to-go coffee, breakfast, and laptop draped over a shoulder and all. A real Silicon local. "Well, seeya later, Tolys!"  
"Bye, Alfred!"  
The door jingled behind him as Alfred dissapeared into the rain. A train horn could be heard above the gale, and the shadow of a running man could be seen out on the sidewalk.  
Rose giggled, sipping her hot chocolate and eyeing Tolys. If it could be called a giggle. Somewhere between a giggle and a snicker. A giggle with the heart of a snicker.  
"What?"  
"Nothing."

**Author's Note:**

> The piece that rose is writing is from Homestuck, by Andrew Hussie. I claim none of this certain part. It can be found here: http://mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=002207  
> Suggested listening? Beethoven quartet pieces. I'm serious.


End file.
